


Romanticized Love

by iratelar



Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead (Web Series)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - No Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Love, No Apocalypse, Past Abuse, Post-Apocalypse, Pre-Apocalypse, Romance, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:06:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27816541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iratelar/pseuds/iratelar
Summary: Your life hasn't been easy, you moved around a lot and didn't have much friends. Finally, for what you hoped was the last time, you had to move to a new town where you knew no one. But now it was different. He was there. Daryl Dixon, the local redneck that everyone feared. Instantly you could feel a connection and not long after he was there to save you.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon & You, Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s), Daryl Dixon/You, Lori Grimes/Rick Grimes, Negan/original female character, Rick Grimes/Michonne
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT! None of the characters used in this story are mine. I do not take any claim over them. All characters are taken from the walking dead show and adapted to fit my storyline.  
> Post-apocalypse. AU
> 
> Hey guys! It's my first time ever writing/uploading my fanfic. I hope you like it! Criticism is welcomed, I'm always looking to improve my work! Have a good one :)

He was a redneck that never got along with anybody, not that he tried. Some would say that it’s not fully his fault, his family life was never good, he never had any constant family alongside him so really he was raised to believe that people don’t stay for too long. His mom died when he was quite young and his father left shortly after, he was “raised” by his big brother Merle that was in and out of jail all the time, never staying at their house for longer than a month or two at a time. Really, he was alone and it seemed like the odds were against him. Of course he wasn’t oblivious to this, he quickly accepted his fate, he finished high school, refusing to drop out like his brother told him to so that he could get a full-time job. He knew Merle was a shitty brother and would end up taking his money anyway so he stuck out those 4 years and soon after graduating he got a job as a mechanic in a local auto body shop owned by a friend of his fathers, Negan, who always felt like Daryl was his responsibility to look after, ever since his father left. Negan never liked what the boys father did and although Merle was too far gone with a mind of his own, Negan always knew Daryl was good, he was just dealt a pretty shitty hand.

It had been 5 years since Daryl has worked as a mechanic, coming up on 6 in fact, and while Daryl had no plans for his future, he didn’t mind imagining a future working this job and going along with whatever happens. He was happy where he was, not that he necessarily knew what happy actually looks like. Daryl did have friends, he had Rick which he grew up with, although the way they met was by Daryl punching Rick in the 5th grade for some irrelevant argument that even they don’t even remember, Rick punched him back and before they knew it they were just two bloodied up 10 year olds going out for ice cream together. Rick was always on the right side of the law, it’s why he eventually became a cop, with a longing to become a sheriff eventually to be exact. This is where he met Shane, his work partner, who although was a good cop, was not the best person. Even so, he had no trouble getting along with Daryl for an occasional beer. Rick had Lori, and even though they claimed to love each other, Daryl thought otherwise, well at least for Loris side, she always seemed a bit too friendly with Shane if you asked him. As usual, Daryl deemed this to be none of his business so he never said anything. And that was it for his social life. When he was younger he would go to local gigs and get drunk beyond recognition, but he never wanted ‘drinking buddies’, and he would make fun of people who needed a group to get wasted- “I ain’t never needed no fancy drinking games to get trashed” he would say. He lived in his old house, Merle wasn’t around much, especially these last couple of years, so by default this house was now Daryl's. He was 24 living in a two floor house that his father miraculously paid off before he left so all he had to worry about was bills that needed to be paid, and he cut down his costs but hacking the neighbor's wi-fi and passing out drunk at night so he never used his lights. He didn’t think his life was bad but he didn’t think it was good either, he just learned to live with it.


	2. Newcomers

“ D, ya here?” - Rick yelled  
“Garage” a short response as usual could be heard from the other room by Daryl. Rick took the whiskey he brought and headed over to the garage where he found Daryl working on a car.  
“Hey man.” Daryl said, taking a rag to wipe off his hands after getting out from under his car.  
“D i got news”  
“Yeah? That why you got whiskey ‘stead of that cheap beer you usually bring?” Daryl mocked.  
“I got promoted, yer looking at the new sheriff.”  
“Shit man, then what ya doin hangin round a rednecks house, u wanna get demoted?” As usual Daryl had a sarcastic reply, never really knowing how to answer sincerely, but Rick knew that Daryl was proud, he didn’t have to say it.  
“Oh shut up you're lucky you got me so i can bail your ass” Rick said.  
“I think you got the wrong Dixon brother on that one”Daryl joked. Rick laughed and before he could say anything Daryl interrupted him.  
“Come on, let’s go see what a lightweight the new sheriff is”  
They both went to Daryl’s living room where they sat down to have a drink.  
“Hey did ya hear? A family is moving in the old Smith house” Rick said.  
“Really? Ain’t that shithole haunted?” Daryl said and they both laughed.  
“What dumbass family is moving here now?”  
“The fucking Campbells or some shit, parents and their 19 year old daughter”  
“High-schooler huh? She’s gonna be disappointed from this place”  
“She just graduated as far as I know, probably won’t stay here for long, go on to college and all that”  
“Yeah probably”  
They both stay quiet for a while.  
“I think Lori's cheating one me man”  
Daryl doesn’t say anything. He just looks at Rick and takes a swig.  
“What?”Rick asks  
“Yeah”  
“Yeah?”  
“Sorry man.”  
They don’t say anything for a while. Rick drinks more than he can handle.  
“You know what the worst part is? I think it’s with Shane”  
Daryl again doesn’t say anything.  
“You think it’s possible it’s Shane?” Rick tries to validate his beliefs.  
“I do” Daryl says looking down and drinking some more  
“Fuck….fuck..FUCK” Rick yells and gets up  
“I’m gonna kill that asshole”  
Daryl gets up after him as Rick storms through the door.  
“Come on man you just got promoted. Stop. You ain’t wanna do this” Daryl tugged Rick back a little on his shoulder. Surprisingly enough Daryl had been the only that could knock some sense into Rick, even though sometimes he took that job too literally.  
“Look at me man. You’re drunk I’ll take you home, cool off and then in the mornin’ we’ll see what to do”  
Rick stood there for a moment, thinking about how to proceed.  
“Fine” He said begrudgingly and got into Daryl's truck. Daryl followed and by the time they got to Rick’s place it hit Daryl that Lori is probably going to be there. Fuck, he thought to himself, not knowing how Rick would react. Luckily enough Rick had passed out in the passenger's seat so Daryl had no problem taking him back to his place.  
“Get up man I ain’t gon carry you”  
Rick slumped.  
“Rick if ya wanna spend the night in my truck be my fucking guest I ain’t gon carry ya” rick moaned and shifted in his seat.  
“Dumbass.” Daryl said and picked up the man carrying him into the house. Once he got Rick on his couch he went out and got into his truck. What was he doing dumb as shit? Maybe, he thought to himself. Was it the alcohol that was making him do this? Nah, Daryl knew his limit was around 2 bottles of scotch, this night he only managed to drink a few glasses, Rick got the rest. By the time he knew it, he arrived at his destination. Shane’s house. He got out of his truck and started yelling.  
“Hey!Walsh!Get out here asshole! Come on prick I ain’t got all night” Daryl managed to wake up the few of the surrounding houses, including the new neighbours from the old Smith house.  
“What the fuck is going on?” Shane said walking out of his house.  
“Daryl? What are you doing? Is everything fucking good?”  
Daryl came closer so that he wouldn’t yell this next part.  
“You sleeping with Lori? Huh? You that fucking shallow you asshole that you couldn’t get anyone else to fuck you? Why’d you do this to Rick man?” Suddenly, they were face to face and Daryl was holding back punching him.  
“What the fuck are you talking about man? I didn’t sleep with anyone”  
“Don’t you fucking lie”  
“Even if i did why the fuck are you here? Where’s Rick?”  
“Passed out drunk fucking horrified that his pregnant wife is sleeping with another man”  
“Wait?What’d you say? Pregnant?”  
“Yeah dumbass”  
Shane put his hand over his face as if he couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He slowly lowered his hands and ran one through his hair.  
“Shit. I didn’t know”  
“So wh-”  
Before Daryl could finish his thought, Lori came outside.  
“What’s going on?” she asked.  
Suddenly Daryl didn’t seem to find any good reason to hold back. He punched Shane, knocking him to the ground, and he kept punching.  
“Daryl! Stop! Stop it!” Lori yelled and came running to Shanes aid. She kept checking to see if he was conscious after Daryl got off him  
“What are you doing Daryl? Why did you do that?”  
Daryl looked at her with eyes that could cut right through you.  
“Do you even know whose baby it is?” Daryl asked her before walking away, not waiting for a response, knowing she didn’t have one. He drove back home and crashed in bed, knowing Shane wouldn’t take any legal action as Rick was sheriff and he wasn’t involved in this ordeal.  
Meanwhile, a lot of the neighbours saw what happened but no one had bothered to call the cops.


	3. Aftermath

It had been two weeks after the incident. The minute Daryl told Rick what happened, he couldn’t even be mad. “Thanks brother.” he said followed by “So can i crash here for a few nights, I don’t wanna see her” Daryl immediately nodded. Ever since then Rick has been staying at Daryl’s looking for a new apartment, even though it was his and not Lori's apartment, he acted as a gentleman and let her keep it. Truth be told he didn’t want it anyway, too many memories.  
Daryl went into the gas station to buy his usual packs of cigarettes while he filled up the truck. As he walked in, out of the corner of his eye he noticed a girl, a tall, perfectly built girl with light brown, shoulder length hair. As he raised his eyes he found she was staring at him with the most beautiful fierce blue eyes he had ever seen. He looked at her for a few seconds before turning his gaze to the cash register where the cashier was waiting for him to pay. Daryl wondered who she was, a girl that beautiful that was wearing a leather jacket and perfectly tight black jeans was hard to miss. So either she was new in town or just passing by. He went out to his truck and as before getting in it he stopped to light a cigarette. Turning his back for a moment he was surprised when he turned back to see the girl standing right in front of him.  
“Hi” you say followed by a warm smile.  
Daryl was slightly caught off guard, something which never happens, he didn’t understand what she was doing talking to him.  
“Hey” he said, cigarette still dangling from his lips.  
“Are you Daryl?” you ask, and Daryl's confusion grew.  
“Whose askin’?” he said   
You laugh “I am.”  
He didn’t say anything, he just looked at you.  
“Right, not much of a joker huh.”  
He remained quiet with his normal dead serious face.  
“Okay well so far this is going great” you say sarcastically. “I’m Y/N Campbell, just moved here in the house that belonged to Mr.Smith, I was askin around for a good mechanic and everybody pointed to your direction” you say  
“If ya need your car fixed, come by the shop, talkin bout it ain’t gonna fix nothin” he turned to get back in his truck.  
“Actually, I don’t need anything fixed”   
He turned back once again wondering why you were talking to him  
“Mr.Smith left this old car, a Chevy Impala ‘67 actually, and I wanna fix it up, thing is I don’t know shit about fixing cars which is odd since i drive a Harley and have no problem fixing that up. Guess cars are my kryptonite. Anyway I was wondering if you had the time to come by and help me fix it. Well, teach me, I’ll pay you, I just gotta find a job first.” you smile and look at him.  
“You drive a Harley?” is all he asks, not focusing on any of the other points you just said.  
“Yeah, it’s a 2009 FXSTB Night Train.”   
“No shit.” he says and looks at you. You don't really know how to respond.  
“So what do you say, you’ll help me out?”  
“Your dad a bike fanatic or smthn?” he asks  
“Why do you ask?”  
“You can fix a bike but don’t know shit about a classic like a ‘67”  
“Oh.Should've guessed” you laugh, feeling stupid you missed the obvious connection.  
“I don’t know, he might be. I never knew him. I got the love for bikes from my grandma, she was a biker back in the day”  
“She teach you how to fix up a bike?”  
“Nah, I was very young when she died, I learned by pulling apart and assembling her old bike, which is now non-driveable mainly because of me. You see why I need help with the car?”  
“Yeah okay. I’ll help. Tell me when you get a job first, I ain’t working no charity case.”  
“You got it and thanks” you smile  
“Sure” he got in his truck and drove off. His mind was overtaken by the image of her face, her voice..  
‘She’s 18 man what the fuck are you thinking’ he told himself. Yeah, she was legal, but he was about to turn 25 soon, it didn’t sit right with him. He also didn’t wanna drag her in his aimless life. I’ll just fix her car, and then I don’t have to see her, he thought to himself.   
Arriving home he found Rick on the couch with his feet up on the coffee table in front of him watching TV and drinking beer.  
“Hey man”  
“Hey”  
Truth be told he liked having Rick around, he didn’t feel so alone. Of course he would never admit this as he knows Rick will leave. Everyone always leaves.  
“What’d you do today?” Rick asks, as usual, he is the one who initiates their conversations.  
“Nothin much, worked on some cars. Met the new Campbell girl”  
“The daughter?”  
Daryl nods  
“Daryl..I don’t think that’s a good idea, she just turned 18”  
“I know, she asked me if I could help her fix up a car is all. Said people told her to come to me for a good mechanic”  
“Well the people ain’t wrong on that one” Rick laughed, knowing that Daryl was the best mechanic for miles around.  
“So did ya hear?”  
“Hear what?” Rick asked  
“Shane and Lori. They’re moving in together”  
“Yeah that sounds about right” Rick takes a big swig from his bottle.  
“Want me to beat him up again?”  
“Not right now. Maybe after the results come back and we see who the real father is” Rick joked to mask his pain  
“Guess we’re getting shitfaced tonight” Daryl concluded  
“Guess we are”


	4. Curiosity

“See that? That’s the fuel distribution pipe. It’s gotta be replaced cuz o’ that dent there. Could cause serious issues”  
Daryl explained to you as you began your first car lesson.  
“How’d you become a mechanic?” You asked him. Completely ignoring the ‘rules’ he told you before you started working, one being that he doesn’t go for small talk.  
“Right. Sorry. I’m just talkative. Force of habit”  
“You don’t say”  
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? You don’t even know me”  
“I know how you managed to tell me your whole life story in those 3 mins at the gas station. Swear it was like watching a sped up god damn life movie”  
“I talk when I’m nervous, I can’t help it”  
“Nervous?”  
“So the fuel pipe?”  
You quickly changed topics. Daryl wondered what you had to be nervous about. I mean you had just moved into the most expensive house in town, your looks surely didn’t discourage you and from what he could tell you had major confidence. So why were you nervous around a nobody redneck like him.  
“Yea the pipes gon cost you an extra $40”  
“Damn.40? Shit, alright I’ll manage”  
He didn’t wanna say anything but he surely wondered why you were so bent over not havin money,your house alone cost as much as if it were 5 of his plus a couple dozen motorcycles thrown in.  
Maybe you were just a cheapskate for all he knew.  
Your lesson went good. You managed to come up with more problems about the car than you did solutions but since you were new and had no friends, this is where all your extra time was gonna go anyways.   
“Right well see ya tomorrow, thanks for all your help Daryl”  
“Yeah” was all he said before he left.

Even though Daryl wasn’t the most popular in town, in fact a lot of the people were somewhat scared of him still he grew up here and everyone knew him as the only decent Dixon, thanks to Negan who managed to talk good about him ever since he was young. He used this over the next couple of days to ask around and see what the deal with you was. Even though you just moved there, news traveled fast in a town like this and he wanted to know more about you. Although he wasn’t quite sure why he did. After talking and hearing people talk about you, there was one thing everyone had to say; ‘She doesn’t talk much’. Daryl at first though they were talking about a different person since the Y/N he knew couldn’t keep her mouth shut. He was now even more curious as to why you talked so much with him, even more as to why you were nervous since the talk around town was that a kid your age tried to start something with you, and not only did you shut him down but managed to scare off everyone in a 70 mile radius. ‘Why?’ was all Daryl could think.


	5. Confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! hey! :) Hope you guys like it so far! Please leave a comment if you feel like it, I would love some feedback!  
> Smut is approaching in the next chapters so think of this as a warning ;))

You were getting for what was your third lesson with Daryl. Even though you hadn’t had much time to get properly ready, as your shift at the diner ended only an hour before Daryl was supposed to come over. When you got home, you quickly took a shower so that you don’t smell like the food from the diner and you put on a pair of black shorts that were maybe a size too small and a grey shirt that was loose but also considered a crop top, and of course you wore your biker boots. You told yourself that it was hot outside and that’s why you were wearing these clothes, you were not wearing them so that Daryl had a chance to check you out… well at least that’s what you told yourself. You went to the kitchen to grab a drink before you would go out to the garage.  
“Where ya headed?” your mom stopped you before you could slip out the door.  
“Garage. Mechanics comin’ again.”  
“Come ‘ere.” your mom said gesturing with one hand, as her other was occupied with a glass of wine as usual. You went over to her and sat on the couch next to her.  
“That’s the third time the mechanics’ here right as I’m ‘bout to leave for work. He your boyfriend or smthn? You hiding him?”  
“No mom, I just don’t wanna disturb you with any noise, it’s why I ask him to come this late” you answered, getting agitated as you knew that she was wine drunk. This was the reason you moved a lot, your mom couldn’t keep a job, she was constantly drinking and bad reputation followed, not that she needed a job, your dad left you enough money to live three lives without needing to work much. But the two of you didn’t really wanna touch the money, you would only use it when things would get tight since only your mom used to work before you were old enough to. This is why you were extremely surprised when your mom showed you pictures of the house you were going to move to. “Holy shit!”-was your reaction to it, you were used to living in small apartments and for a year you lived in a trailer once, so a house like this was beyond your imagination. "You know I don’t like using his money, it’s jus’ smthn about this house, we have to move here”-was what your mom told you when you asked how’d she pay for it, and you saw no reason to protest.  
“Right, well don’t get involved with him, heard some people sayin’ that he was bad news, you know his brother is in jail” your mom said  
“He’s just helpin’ me fix the car” you said, in a somewhat agitated tone.  
“Hey! Watch the attitude girl!” your mom replied, she had some anger issues and the wine didn’t help.  
“What attitude? I was-” before you could finish your sentence you could feel the ring your mom was wearing slice your cheek as she slapped you.  
“I don’t got time for this girl. I’m only looking out for you” she said before getting up to leave for work. You sat there for a moment, hand pressed against your cheek, you steadied yourself before getting up to go see your new scar in the mirror. You sighed, before cleaning it off with a wipe and heading out to the garage, knowing Daryl would be there any moment. You lifted the garage door and there he was leaned against his truck, smoking a cigarette.  
“Hey” you said, trying to perk up so that he wouldn’t notice something was wrong, not that he would care, you thought.  
“Hey” he said in his usual low raspy voice, proceeding to walk over to you.  
“What happened to yer face?” he said, with a look on his face you couldn’t quite understand.  
“Oh, uhh on the way back from work I saw this cat and I tried to pet it, turns out it wasn’t that friendly” you smiled at him, hoping he would believe you.  
“Mm” he grumbled and proceeded to go to the car.  
You felt relief that he didn’t ask you any more questions.  
Immediately you started working on the car.  
“You got cash for the pipe?” he asked 40 minutes into your ‘lesson’.  
“Huh? uh yeah, got paid yesterday I’m set” you were distracted so it took you a minute to process what he was asking.  
“You okay?”  
“Yeah, yeah I just drifted is all. Didn’t get much sleep yesterday”  
“You ain’t as chatty as you usually are” he remarked  
“Guess I ain’t that nervous anymore” you smiled back.  
He turned to work on the car without saying anything but you swore you saw him grin for a second. After about an hour and a half you were done with the car, of course there was a lot more work to be done. You just didn’t have the right parts and tools to continue at the moment.  
“Guess that’s it. I’ll bring the parts in a few days, gotta get em from outta town” he said, closing the hood of the car.  
“Yeah, alright” you were still zoned out so you weren’t even looking at him when you answered.  
He looked at you for a bit, not sure of why he was doing so.  
He started to leave but before he could get in his truck you stopped him.  
“Hey, uh, you wanna come in for a beer?”  
“A beer? You ain’t 21 yet.”  
“Yeah but my mom runs a 'European' household” you smiled, and so did he a little.  
“Well?”  
He didn’t answer you, he just stood there, clearly not being sure of what to say.  
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea” he finally said  
“Come on, just one beer, I wanna say thank you for the car”  
“No need to say thank you, you're paying for it”  
You tilted your head to his response with a smile, right as you thought he was gonna say yes, Daryl got in his truck. You were disappointed to say the least, but you understood why, he probably thought of you as a kid and he didn’t wanna spend time hanging around kids. Just as you had given up and started to go back inside, something unexpected happened.  
“Hop in” he said  
“What?”  
“Come on I ain’t got all day Y/N”  
You quickly went to grab your leather jacket and after you closed the garage door, you ran to his truck.  
“Where we goin?”  
“You’ll see”  
“Hey tell me if your kidnapping me, it be the least you could do”  
He grinned and drove off, you smiled.  
After about a 20 minute drive, he parked at a remote area surrounded by woods.  
“Okay now I really think you’re gonna murder me or somethin’”  
“Come on”  
You both got out of the truck and you followed him. Even though you didn’t know him, you trusted him and even if things went south you always had a knife in your boot, combined with the street fighting lessons you used to take, you weren’t worried.  
After a short walk you reached a lake, a very small lake, but it was beautiful, with the moon shining over it, it looked surreal.  
“Wow” you said.  
“Yeah, it’s where I come to clear my mind, I was thinkin’ you needed to tonight”  
You looked at him in awe, thinking this was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you.  
“Thanks” you smiled at him  
He sat down on a clearing near the lake and you sat next to him.  
“Here” he said before pulling out a flask from his jacket.  
“Whiskey” he answered knowing what you’d ask even before you opened your mouth.  
You took a swig.  
“Damn.” you made a grossed out face. “That’s some cheap whiskey” he laughed, while at the same time he was impressed that you knew your drinks.  
“Gets the job done” he took a sip this time.  
You both stared at the lake for a while, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere that it instilled.  
“That ain’t a cat scratch” Daryl said, still looking out at the lake  
“No, it isn’t”  
“What happened”  
“Nothin I’m not used to”  
“Y/N…”  
You stayed quiet for a while, thinking that if you told him he wouldn’t want anything to do with you, or even worse he’ll treat you like some broken, helpless girl.  
“You can trust me.” This was the first time he looked directly in your eyes.  
“My mom… we get along most of the time, just when she has a little too much to drink she gets carried away sometimes. It’s fine really, nothing I can’t handle.”  
“You shouldn’t have to handle to it” he says  
“Yeah well that’s life for ya” you turn to look at the lake again.


	6. Confessions Continued

You stayed there for quite a long time, both of you just enjoying and taking in the serenity. You loved how safe you felt around him, protected. Truth be told, you had never felt like that, not with anyone and not alone. It had been a long day, and the peacefulness made you sleepy, you found your head falling a few times as if you were about to fall asleep.  
“Here” Daryl said, sitting closer next to you, you put your head on his shoulder.  
You rest your head on him, relaxing your whole body.   
You were quiet for quite a while until Daryl spoke up.  
“Ya know, if it ever gets bad, you can stay at my place”  
You took your head off his and looked him in the eyes, grateful for what he had just said.  
“Really?”  
“Look, I know what it’s like and hell I wish I had someone offer me this when I was a kid.”  
You were beyond excited about this but you were kinda sad he called you a kid. Maybe it was for the best, now you had a friend with obviously no bad intentions who just wanted to protect you.  
You hugged him.  
“Thank you”  
“‘Is alright, I’m here for ye”  
Daryl flinched a little when you hugged, but you weren’t surprised though, especially not with what he had just told you. He didn’t have an easy past, yet somehow, however selfish it sounded, that made you feel safe, knowing you could confide in someone that understood what you were going through.  
“When do ya gotta be home?”  
“Well my mom’s out all night so not till morning”  
“A’right, wait here”  
He got up and headed to the direction of the truck. You waited to see what he was doing. After a minute or two he came back with a bottle.  
“You up for more whiskey?”  
“I’m not even 21 yet how much alcohol do you think I can handle”  
“Thought you ran on European time” he made fun of you  
“Fine I admit, I’m up for it”  
“Here” he handed you the bottle and sat back down   
“What, no glasses?” you joked  
He smirked.  
You took two sips before handing it back to him.  
“Can I ask you something?” you said.  
“Shoot”   
“What did that guy do that made you beat him up? Shawn something?”  
“Shane?”  
“Yeah! That was it. What happened?”  
“How do you know about that?”  
“The night you did it was our first night staying at the house, I heard you yellin then I went outside to see what was goin on”  
“You heard a random guy yellin shit and you thought it was a good idea to go out?”  
“Yeah, trust me I’ve dealt with worse shit than yelling”  
“Still stupid that you went outside, you didn’t know what it was you could have gotten hurt. ”  
“Why do you even care?”  
“I don’t, just sayin it was stupid is all”  
“Hey you’re chanigin the topic, why’d you do it?”  
“Guy’s an asshole. Cheated on a friend.”  
“So you beat him up?”  
“He’s a cop ain’t gonna do shit about it, plus I was drunk”  
“Ahh, well sure I guess that justifies it” you said mockingly   
“Trust me, it does when it comes to him”  
“Okay, I believe you.”  
Daryl stopped to look at you. He didn’t know why, but you saying that you believed him made him stunned. In a good way, a weird way he didn’t understand. No one really ever said that to him, not with such reassurance that you did. ‘I believe you’ Just three words, three simple words that made him realize he was in big trouble.


	7. Decision

After a night of drinking and talking, you could see the sun coming up so you decided to drive back home. Daryl dropped you off at your house and immediately you crashed in bed and fell asleep.  
After dropping you off Daryl went to the gas station to buy some drinks as he started to feel the dehydration hit, afterwards heading home. It was around 6am so Rick had just woken up and was making breakfast.  
“Hey man, where ya been?”  
“Out by the lake”  
“Alone all night?”   
Daryl stayed quiet for a second debating on if he should tell the truth.  
“Nah”  
“Alright well listen I’m getting a new partner today and after that I’ll go check out some apartments so I’ll be back late”  
Rick wasn’t interested in who Daryl was with, to his relief, he probably assumed he was there drinking with some of the people from his repair shop.  
“Okay ‘honey’” Daryl said, rolling his eyes to Rick as he felt that Rick still had the need to fill in Daryl like he did with Lori so it was as if they were playing a married couple. Daryl took a slice of toast from Rick's plate and headed to his room but just before he went to shower he decided to go back and tell Rick about the night he had.  
“Listen man, can we talk”  
“Yea of course, have a seat”  
Daryl poured himself a cup of coffee before sitting down on the table that Rick had been eating his breakfast at. He couldn’t get himself to speak.  
“Say it Daryl, whatever it is”  
“Last night, at the lake, I was with y/n ”  
Rick stopped eating his breakfast and faced Daryl with a concerned look.  
“Daryl...”  
“I know I know but nothing happened. And she’s 19 man almost 20”  
“She can’t even legally buy a drink Daryl.”  
“Shit man I know but you know me I don’t do crap like this, she’s just… somethin else man”  
Rick stayed quiet.  
“Okay listen to me carefully brother. Don’t do shit. Don’t do shit until you’re absolutely sure that she is not just another fling”  
“I know man I ain’t stupid”   
Rick looked at him with a snarky expression  
“Now that’s debatable” he laughed and Daryl snarked.  
Rick continued the conversation  
“Just look out, everybody is lookin for drama in this town”  
“Yeah I know, imma head off to bed, Negan’s gonna be pissed if i’m late again”  
“Yeah okay see you later”  
Although Rick new Daryl meant well, he wasn't sure that the rest of the town would see the same.


	8. Unknown

Daryl was still sleeping when Rick had left for work, or at least trying to sleep. Every time he’d close his eyes he would see y/n’s face. Finally he managed to dose off in the last couple of hours he had before having to wake up and go to work. Just as he dozed off he heard a loud knocking coming from the front door. He got up, wary of whoever it might be, he thought maybe Merle had been in trouble and Daryl was about to pay the price. In caution he grabbed his crossbow and as he was walking slowly to the door he yelled out: “Who is it?”  
To his surprise the voice that answered wasn’t a rough manly voice he was expecting, not even close, “Daryl please it’s me” you yelled “Plea..” suddenly he heard a thump and ran to the front door leaving his crossbow behind. When he opened the door he saw you lying there with a bruised face covered in blood, you had fallen unconscious. “Y/N? Shit.” immediately he picked you up and carried you inside, putting you on your back on his couch. He went back outside to see if anyone was around and when he declared the coast free, he slammed the door and ran back to you. From what Daryl could tell your eye was swollen and your nose was bloody, most likely broken, he also noticed there were cuts and bruises all over you, but he couldn’t tell much since your clothes were very bloody. Quickly, he went to get you an ice pack, whatever supplies he had to bandage you up and a clean shirt. As he was cleaning your wounds, you were still out of it so he decided it would be best not to wait so he went to change your shirt. Lifting it up, Daryl saw even bigger bruises on your abdomen and he couldn’t help but clench his jaw and fist at the thought of what had happened before you came to his house. He changed your shirt and continued to bandage you up while the ice pack was resting on your eye, luckily when he checked your nose, he saw it wasn’t broken. Soon after he was done, he called Rick to tell him that he was gonna kill the asshole that did this.  
“Fuck man when she wakes up and tells me i swear imma kill the dipshit”  
“Daryl, calm down, just make sure she’s okay I’ll look into this”  
“God damn it Rick I can’t stay calm you should come and see her whoever did this is a fucking pyschopath”  
“I’ll look into it, but listen I know you know what happens in cases of abuse, if she doesn’t wake up soon you need to check, I need to know what I’m dealing with”  
Daryl stayed quiet for a minute, realizing Rick meant that he’d need to check for bruises that would indicate rape. He felt sick,  
“Daryl? You still there?”  
“Yeah yeah, I just, I can’t do that I can’t check”  
“It’s either that or we take her to a hospital and you know why that’s not an option”  
“Shit, yeah I’ll see man, call me when you know something”  
Daryl hung up the phone and threw it on the table, he walked over to the chair across from you and sat down, with a concerned look on his face.  
“Check for what?” you said while clearing your throat. You had woken up a few minutes prior and caught the end of the conversation.  
To Daryl's relief, he went over to you.  
“Hey, yer up” he said, avoiding your question.  
“Yeah” you noticed the bandages on your arm and realized Daryl had changed your shirt too, most likely because the other one was covered in blood.  
“What happened y/n? Who did this?”  
“I um, I was heading somewhere, I don’t- don’t remember where and I heard someone yell my name, so I turned around and the next thing I remember I was lying near the forest. I’m sorry I came here, I didn’t know where to go”  
“Hey, hey. No need to apologize, you did right by coming here”  
You were getting really upset so Daryl suggested you get some rest.  
Besides, he had work to do.


End file.
